Games utilizing playing cards are popular throughout the world. Many people get hours of enjoyment and relaxation from playing cards. In certain parts of the world, wagering adds an additional dimension of excitement to the game. Whether in xe2x80x9ccard roomxe2x80x9d games where the players play against each other or in a traditional xe2x80x9ccasinoxe2x80x9d game environment where an employee of the house acts as a banker, wagering adds excitement to many forms of card games.
Players involved in card games with wagering often enjoy new games with relatively simple rules that can readily be learned by a beginner or casual player.
Typical card games involve a dealer providing a plurality of cards to each player. Each player then gathers the cards and tries to form the best possible hand according to some pre-determined hierarchy of hand values. For example, a standard poker hierarchy is, in descending order, Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pair, One Pair, and High Card. In some games, players are permitted to discard certain cards and receive new cards in an effort to form a better hand.
It is also common to designate one or more cards as xe2x80x9cwildxe2x80x9d cards which can have any one of a predetermined number of values at the option of the player(s) receiving such wild cards. In this manner, the designation of wild cards within a deck can significantly increase the chances of a player attaining a particular hand. In known games which utilize wild cards, players must use the wild card in the hand in which the wild card is received. Therefore, if a player has a card hand of low or no value, the wild card may not be sufficient to allow that player to form a winning hand. For example, if the payout schedule for a given game starts at a pair of jacks, and the player has the following hand: 2, 4, 5, 10 of different suits and a wild card, the best poker hand that the player could form with one wild card would be a pair of 10""s. This hand would not qualify for a winning payout.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide a card game which increases the player""s excitement and enjoyment, as well as the level of player participation by providing a player with an opportunity to maximize the impact of receiving a wild card.
It is also desirable to provide wagering games other than cards with an exciting, new feature which comprises a wild indicia and novel methods of using that wild indicia.
It is also desirable to provide novel games readily adaptable to wagering which are relatively simple to learn for new players.
It is also desirable to provide games which provide one or more players with opportunities to modify the player""s winning payout by using such a wild indicia, received during one play, with a subsequent play.
The various embodiments of the present invention are directed to games which provide a player who has received at least one wild indicia during one play with the opportunity to reserve that wild indicia for use in a subsequent play. The advantages of the present invention are applicable to a wide variety of games including xe2x80x9ccardxe2x80x9d games and other conventional games of chance or skill including keno, bingo, gaming devices, such as reel slots, dice games and lotto. As used herein, the term xe2x80x9ccard gamexe2x80x9d is intended to include conventional table/board type games wherein one or more persons deal actual playing cards to one or more players, as well as any type of mechanical or electronic devices which display indicia of playing cards.
The wild indicia of the present invention may take any form desired by the players or the establishment conducting the game. For example, when playing a card game, the wild indicia will typically comprise a wild card. While jokers may be utilized to indicate a wild card, it is also within the scope of the present invention to use one or more other indicia such as one of the other cards of a deck or non-conventional indicia to indicate a wild card. Similarly, in games other than card games, any form of wild indicia may be utilized. In all forms of the present invention, a player is provided with the possibility of utilizing a wild indicia when it is most advantageous for the player to do so, i.e., when the player will maximize a winning payout. When a player receives a wild indicia, the player can use that wild indicia immediately or may reserve the wild indicia for use in a subsequent play. For example, a player may use a wild card in a subsequent hand or may use a wild indicia received during the play of one game of bingo in a subsequent game.
One preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a gaming device having an electronic touch-sensitive screen which is controlled, at least in part, by a player touching images on the screen.
Another embodiment of the present invention comprises a gaming device wherein input from a player is supplied to a device through actuation buttons.
A still further embodiment of the present invention comprises a game table designed for use by a dealer and a plurality of players. Along with conventional indicia on the game table including betting areas for each player, each player area is also provided with a reserve area wherein a player may place a wild card if that player decides not to use the wild card in the hand in which he receives the wild card and prefers to use the wild card in a later hand.
Each of the embodiments of the present invention provides one or more players with opportunities to maximize the beneficial effect of a wild indicia.
These and other embodiments are described in greater detail with reference to the drawings.